Growing up in The Bronx, Elliott Schlam had always been electronically inclined.

After graduating from New York University in 1961, he remained there to earn a Ph.D. in electronics and solid-state physics in 1966 and then served on active duty at Fort Monmouth during the Vietnam War, after which he moved to Ocean Township. Following a nearly 20-year career serving as a branch chief and division director for the Department of Defense, Schlam ventured out on his own as an independent business and technical consultant.

Curiously enough, one of Schlam’s first consulting assignments would introduce him to the very technology that he’s still championing today, 15 years later.

“Back then, I began consulting for a company in Massachusetts and two friends and I ultimately bought the technology, which was called ‘EPD,’ or electropolymeric display,” he said. “Essentially, if you have a thin plastic foil and put a conductive coating on it, you can make it move with voltage or an electrostatic charge to create things like billboards at a fraction of the cost of LED technology.”

The team spent several years introducing the technology to manufacturers of those applications, “but then we realized that the technology could also be applied to windows in the form of electronic shades that rolled up and down,” he said. With 3,000 square feet of rented space in Eatontown, New Visual Media Group LLC (NVMG) was born in 2008.

In the U.S., where buildings consume some 40 percent of the nation’s energy, “the Department of Energy has identified inefficient windows as the cause of an estimated 5 percent of all energy wasted,” said Schlam of these conduits, through which sun unnecessarily heats the interior of buildings in the summer and heat generated to warm the inside of buildings gets lost in the winter.

To help offset that loss, “our EPD technology is basically a tightly-wrapped polymer foil that can be hidden inside any standard double-pane window, creating a ‘shade’ of almost any color or design that keeps the heat out in the summer and in during the winter, significantly reducing energy usage and cost,” he said. Attached to a photocell that automatically senses when the sun is strong, for example, the shade can be electronically lowered and raised or can respond to a TV-like remote control, smartphone app or pre-set program designed to recognize temperature shifts or room occupancy.

“In addition to making a home or business more energy-efficient, EPD technology within windows may also help deter criminal activity by reducing visual access into a home or building, making properties more secure and enhancing occupants’ peace of mind,” he said of the system, which doesn’t preclude the use of decorative window treatments. “Our technology provides the ultimate barrier and can be produced in a number of different patterns, but we also have options that are fully see-through while still providing protection against the elements so that users can still enjoy a view to the outside.”

Anna Dyson, director of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Center for Architecture, Science and Ecology (in cooperation with international architectural firm Skidmore Owings and Merrill), whose institution has been collaborating with NVMG to develop EPD for the commercial market, has been impressed with the concept and its potential.

“EPD technology shows great promise and is a technological approach that could allow customers and building occupants more flexibility and dynamic control over the aesthetics and environmental performance of their windows,” Dyson said.

The clean room at New Visual Media Group LLC in Eatontown.(Photo: NOAH K. MURRAY/CORRESPONDENT)

Lots of testing

Because windows are exposed to extreme environmental elements and must survive enormous temperature variations, “adapting EPD technology to windows required a lot of work, testing and R&D,” Schlam said. To support its needs and growing demand, NVMG tripled its space to 9,000 square feet over the past eight years to now include extensive laboratory testing facilities, office areas and a 2,000 square-foot clean room complete with specialized air transfer capabilities and HEPA filters to ensure the controlled manufacture and sealing of units.

While Schlam serves as principal and managing director of operations, “we have 12 employees of a largely technical background, including a total of three Ph.D.s, and represent a truly world-class operation,” he said.

While working with window and glass manufacturers to commercialize the technology as well as utilities including Public Service Electric & Gas based on EPD’s ability to assist with the company’s demand response, NVMG is pursuing a number of other opportunities as well. Among these, “the auto, aircraft and supermarket/cold storage industries have all expressed interest in EPD, as well as the health care industry, because our technology can safely provide privacy for patients and staff without the use of materials or fabrics, which can be conduits for bacteria and infectious disease,” Schlam said.

Though he concedes that selling EPD to the “mature” window industry can be a challenge, EPD has few direct competitors. “Our technology is far less expensive than other similar approaches such as electrochromic technology and photoelectric coatings and we’re encouraged to see the variety of organizations and industries that recognize its value and potential,” he said.

Still energized by the technology that first drove him years ago, Schlam said that his colleagues provide daily inspiration. “We have a lot of smart people on our team and I love the way that we sit together, listen to each other’s ideas and solve problems,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to see all of the cooperation, creativity and innovation here and I’m so proud to have such an outstanding team of people who are so dedicated to getting it right.”

“Thanks to EPD, people’s electricity bills will decrease and they’ll experience greater privacy and feel safer,” Schlam said of NVMG’s innovation. “With this technology, we’re excited to make a major difference in homes and buildings and help contribute to the overall well-being of people.”

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